Arado Ar 197

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Arado Ar 197
German Arado Ar 197 fighter prototype c1937.jpg
Type: Carrier - fighter plane
Design country:

German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) German Empire

Manufacturer:

Arado

First flight:

1937

Commissioning:

-

Production time:

1937-1940

Number of pieces:

3 prototypes + pilot series of at least 11

The Arado Ar 197 was a design by Arado for a single-seat, carrier-based fighter in biplane configuration .

development

The aircraft was developed in 1937 for the German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin, which is currently under construction, based on the Arado Ar 68 H, the first Arado aircraft type with a closed cockpit. Their cell was only optimized for carrier landings and the landing gear was designed to be detachable to facilitate water landings . In addition, a landing hook and catapult fittings were attached.

As drive a water cooled was used for V1 (D-ITSE) V-engine Daimler-Benz DB 600 with 910 hp and for the V2 a radial engine BMW 132 J installed with 815 hp and for the V3 a radial engine BMW 132Dc with 880 hp. The V3 also received an external additional tank and armament consisting of two 20 mm MG FF and two 7.9 mm MG 17 . Four 50 kg SC50 bombs could be carried under the wings.

Although the flight performance of a double-decker had been considered insufficient since 1937, the situation for carrier-based aircraft was assessed differently. The primary requirements here are low landing speed, short landing and take-off distances, long range and, above all, robustness. Therefore, the Ar 197 was not completely dropped when the carrier variant Bf 109T was already available, but as a light high-performance aircraft it was unsuitable for carrier use on the high seas. Ultimately, the carrier fighter project failed due to differing views of the Navy and Air Force : The Navy rejected the Bf 109T as unsuitable, but on the other hand had no clear requirement profile. The Luftwaffe did not want to imagine having its own type developed, but only accepted adapted but existing types. She stuck to the idea of ​​a high-performance fighter. At times, the solution was to be the Me 155 , a preliminary stage of the later high-altitude fighter project with larger wings and an inwardly retractable wide-gauge landing gear. There was no series production of the Ar 197 because the Graf Zeppelin was never completed. The carrier prototypes and a small series of Bf 109T were put back into land-based fighters.

Three prototypes of the Ar 197 (W.-Nr. 2071-2073) and a pilot series of at least eleven aircraft were built by April 1940.

Technical specifications

Model picture Ar 197 V2
Parameter Data Ar 197 V3
crew 1
length 9.2 m
span 11.0 m
height 3.6 m
Empty mass 1840 kg
Max. Takeoff mass 2475 kg
Marching speed 354 km / h at an altitude of 1500 m
Top speed 400 km / h at an altitude of 2500 m
Service ceiling 8600 m
Range 695 km, with additional tank 1640 km
Engines BMW 132 DC , 880 PS (647 kW)
Armament 2 × MG FF , 2 × MG 17 , 4 × 50 kg bombs

literature

  • William Green, Gordon Swanborough: The Complete Book of Fighters. Color Library Direct, Godalming, UK 1994, ISBN 1-85833-777-1 . (engl.)
  • Jet & Prop magazine . Issue 2/08, article Ulrich Israel: The adapted carrier aircraft. VDM Verlag, Zweibrücken 2008.

Web links

Commons : Arado Ar 197  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jörg Armin wreath Hoff: Arado. History of an aircraft factory. Aviatic, Oberhaching 1995, ISBN 3-925505-27-X , p. 81.
  2. ↑ Production documents Federal Archives / Military Archives Freiburg, RL 3